New Scientist Live 'huge success' for astrophysicists

Astrophysicists took ‘The Universe’ to London at the weekend in a warm-up for next year’s British Science Festival, co-hosted by Liverpool John Moores University.

LJMU’s Astrophysics Research Institute has a long and acclaimed history of engaging the public in science – via outreach and the award-winning Schools Observatory, which allows children to peer through the Liverpool Telescope from classroom or bedroom.

At the weekend, staff and postgraduate students showcased their work at the New Scientist Live event held at the ExCeL Centre in London’s Docklands.

More than 3,000 people visited the ARI ‘hub’ with people of all ages excited by our New Liverpool Telescope project, an exhibition on the Schools Observatory, cosmological simulations on VR headsets and assorted videos, talks and Q&A.

ARI Director Professor Ian McCarthy said: “The team did brilliantly well and interacted with thousands of people.

“We want to interest the public and young people in particular, in STEM and astronomy. Hopefully, we’ll see a few more applications on our teaching programmes in the future, and we'll have a well-oiled machine for next summer's British Science Festival.”

The first two days (Saturday and Sunday) were for the general public and Monday was Schools Day, with a widening participation theme. 

PhD student Rojita Buddhacharya said: “One young boy asked me if I was an astronomer, so I showed him a real star through our telescope in Spain and his eyes lit up as he turned to his mother and said, "I want to stay here."

“His mother shared that both her boys aspired to be astronomers and were fascinated by exoplanets and black holes, and Jack's birthday surprise was this visit to New Scientist Live. They were bursting with questions—how we could observe distant objects like the Crab Nebula and Antennae Galaxies, how big and far away they were, and whether any of those galaxies had Earth-like planets.

“Jack, 10, even asked a specific question about Kepler-22b, the first transiting planet discovered within the habitable zone of a Sun-like star. His curiosity was remarkable, and his question—whether we had a telescope capable of viewing Kepler-22b—was beyond his years!”

She added that other questions over the weekend ranged from why stars twinkle to the complexities of dark matter. There was immense curiosity around topics like black holes, JWST observations, quantum entanglement, galaxy mergers, supernovae, the TRAPPIST-1 system, radio astronomy and even the existence of aliens.

The team also met professionals, including a satellite company PhD holder interested in pursuing distance learning in astronomy at ARI, and science communicators seeking future opportunities.

Added Dr Andreea Font, who led the trip: “NS Live was not just about outreach—it was a personal and professional triumph, reinforcing our commitment to inspiring the next generation of scientists.”

The team was also praised for its ethnic diversity. The team comprised: Andreea Font (Project Coordinator and Team Leader), Jaime Salcido Negrete (VR whiz), Emma Smith and Georgia Hurst (TSO), Ali Ranjbar (LT/NRT), Khang Nguyen, Anna Durrant, Sakircan Beyazit and Rojita Buddhacharya (PGRs), with support from Stacey Habergham-Mawson, Caroline Ramsay, Adrian McGrath, Helen Jermak and Gemma Reed. 

Liverpool John Moores University and the University of Liverpool will jointly host the British Science Festival from 10 to 15 September 2025.